Day 3 (31st December 2011)
New Years Eve kicked off with UK beatbox king Beardyman taking to the Rhythm stage – and his oral skill blew me away - such an amazing talent to see live, if you ever have
the chance, do try catch him, with each set always offering something truly mesmerising. Next on Rhythm was Kids of 88, an
electro/new wave duo based in Auckland. I
quickly headed over to the RBMA tent to snap Electric Wire Hustle, another
local, unique Wellington band which produce their own style of sound with tastes
of hip-hop, psychedelic and soul music waved amongst their instrumental endeavors.
This was my first time hearing this band and
my ears were tickled and blown away (so much so that right after the festival I brought their
2009 self-titled album, played extensively while editing the
photos). Example & DJ Wire appeared nexton the Rhythm stage
next, with DJ Wire opening for 30 minutes until Example came on stage, which
for me was kind of a let down having to wait that long – I caught bits of
Example but from what I could see from my viewpoint, the crowd was enjoying
popular 'Last Ones Standing' and 'Stay Awake'. Coming closer to midnight I
managed to get behind backstage of Rhythm and meet Skream & Benga, earlier
in the year Magnetic Man played at Rhythm & Vines Soundcheck in which I
captured Benga’s photo of the year with him stage diving.
The countdown to Midnight began and Skream & Benga made their appearance with Exampleand
the crowd was already worked up, literally chomping at the bit waiting for their set. I completely
missed the fireworks display as I was backstage Rhythm but from what I heard it
sounded like a gragantuan display. Not only were there fireworks, there was a 20
minute performance by a dance group who were dressed in “Tron” like outfits
with the stage being completely dark, illuminated by their neon decorative clothes. Skream & Benga plus Youngman MC &
SGT Pokes took the stage in raucous fashion. Further into the set 12
girls from the front row were invited up onto stage, and then more were invited
up – it became like something of a Borgore set. Benga had mentioned to me
backstage that he was going to go for round two stage-diving, and just as promised both him and his
brother were launching themselves into the crowd.
Everyone was enjoying themselves
and it was a great start to a new year. By now the crowd was soaked in rain and
mud, but they didn’t seem to care. The rain carried on thundering down throughout the evening
and soon the estate turned to a complete mud pit, although it was entertaining to
see people struggle with moving from stage to stage - and of course, some people established
some fun amongst the wet conditions and started sliding down the hills surrounding
the Rhythm stage. Needless to say - and excuse the pun - peoples spirits were far from dampened.
I made it to Vines for the start of Netsky’s set and once again it
was a monster display crammed full of recent Hospital bangers but after an hour I decided to call it an evening. 5
days of festival work had definitely caught up to me and being cold and wet
didn’t help either, but overall I had a wicked New Years and will be back for
more in a year’s time!
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